Robin Lehner, Senators agree to three-year, $6.675 million extension

The last remaining Ottawa Senators restricted free agent is now off the market. Goaltender Robin Lehner will be in Canada’s capital for the next three seasons after agreeing to an extension on Thursday.

According to the team, the three-year pact is worth $6.675 million. The deal is backloaded with the 23-year old Lehner earning $1.5M, $2.025M and $3.15M in each of the next three seasons.

Lehner, 23, set a new career high in playing 36 National Hockey League games last season while establishing a new personal best in victories with a record of 12-15-6. He also set a personal and franchise high with 53 saves in a 5-4 shootout setback to the N.Y. Islanders on Nov. 1, and then became the first goaltender in franchise history to face greater than 50 shots in one game and earn a victory in a 5-4 shootout win over the Blues on Feb. 4 in St. Louis, which was ultimately the first shootout win of his NHL career.

Craig Anderson is entering the final year of his contract with the Senators, so the uptick in salary for Lehner will coincide with him taking over the no. 1 job in Ottawa. Locking up Lehner will also allow the Senators to potentially move Anderson by the trade deadline for assets. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, there haven’t been any extension talks between Anderson and the team.

Now general manager Bryan Murray can shift his focus to summer 2015 where Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur and Marc Methot are slated to become unrestricted free agents. Ryan's decision, as The 6th Sens laid out earlier this week, could have a big effect on how the franchise moves forward.